"Normal" Barbie Looks Damn Good to Us

Looking back, most of the toys I played with (Barbie) and movies heroines I loved (Ariel), were pretty poor role models as far as body image was concerned.

By
Natasha Burton

Jul 02, 2013

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Nickolay Lamm of MyDeals.com

Nickolay Lamm of MyDeals.com

Looking back, most of the toys I played with (Barbie) and movies heroines I loved (Ariel), were pretty poor role models as far as body image was concerned—all teeny waists and ample boobs and porcelain skin and twiggy legs (fins?).

While idolizing these ladies didn't spark an eating disorder, or anything like that, I totally understand why some critics believe that exposing girls to these kinds of unattainable beauty standards can be seriously harmful. Even though I never took drastic measures to get the whittled waistlines of dolls or Disney princesses, their (completely unrealistic) figure set a standard.

It's that standard that sparked artist Nickolay Lamm to reimagine Barbie using national measurements of what the average 19-year-old woman really looks like. "Normal Barbie," as she's been dubbed, is of average height and weight and actually has a butt—but doesn't she look great? (Side note: We can't help but love a guy who cares deeply enough about women's self-confidence and mental well-being to take the time to do this.)

Nickolay Lamm of MyDeals.com

As he told the Huffington Post: "If there's even a small chance of Barbie in its present form negatively influencing girls, and if Barbie looks good as an average-sized woman in America, what's stopping Mattel from making one?"

Nickolay Lamm of MyDeals.com

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What, indeed? I know I would have totally been BFF with her as a kid. Let us know what you think of "Normal Barbie" in the comments.